The Onbekendegracht (Unknown Canal) is a short canal in
Amsterdam
Amsterdam ( , , , lit. ''The Dam on the River Amstel'') is the Capital of the Netherlands, capital and Municipalities of the Netherlands, most populous city of the Netherlands, with The Hague being the seat of government. It has a population ...
, in the eastern part of the
Grachtengordel
The Grachtengordel (, "canal belt (girdle);" known in English as the Canal District) is a neighborhood in Amsterdam, Netherlands located in the Centrum district. The seventeenth-century canals of Amsterdam, located in the center of Amsterdam, wer ...
(canal belt).
Location
The Onbekendegracht, which connects the
Nieuwe Prinsengracht
The Nieuwe Prinsengracht is a canal in the Plantage neighborhood of Amsterdam, an extension of the Prinsengracht in the eastern Grachtengordel (canal belt).
Location
The Nieuwe Prinsengracht runs between the Amstel and the Plantage Muidergracht. ...
and the
Nieuwe Achtergracht
The Nieuwe Achtergracht is a canal in Amsterdam in the east of the Grachtengordel (canal belt) in the Amsterdam-Centrum district.
It runs parallel to the Nieuwe Prinsengracht and connects the Onbekendegracht with the Plantage Muidergracht.
The ...
, is located directly behind the
Royal Theater Carré
The Royal Theater Carré (Dutch: ) is a Neo-Renaissance theatre in Amsterdam, located near the river Amstel. When the theatre was founded in 1887, it was originally meant as a permanent circus building. Currently, it is mainly used for musicals, ...
in the Weesperbuurt.
The cast iron bridge no. 252, built in 1899, connects
Nieuwe Achtergracht
The Nieuwe Achtergracht is a canal in Amsterdam in the east of the Grachtengordel (canal belt) in the Amsterdam-Centrum district.
It runs parallel to the Nieuwe Prinsengracht and connects the Onbekendegracht with the Plantage Muidergracht.
The ...
with the Onbekendegracht.
This pedestrian bridge is one of the 72 municipal monuments in the form of a bridge.
The buildings at Onbekendegracht 1–5, built in 1906 and designed by AJ Tymensen, became a monument in 2006.
Also bridge no. 253 is over the Onbekendegracht.
Name
The Onbekendegracht originally gave the Voormalige Stadstimmertuin street access to the Amstel.
In a notarial deed drawn up in 1800 the canal was called "the Onbekende or Amstelgragtje".
The name Korte Amstelgrachtje was also in vogue. The name means 'unknown canal'.
In 1948, residents of the Onbekendegracht asked the municipality of Amsterdam to change the name of the canal because they found it too confusing.
However, the request was not granted.
Mill
The impressionist
Claude Monet
Oscar-Claude Monet (, , ; 14 November 1840 – 5 December 1926) was a French painter and founder of impressionist painting who is seen as a key precursor to modernism, especially in his attempts to paint nature as he perceived it. During ...
painted a canvas in 1871 entitled "Le Moulin de l'Onbekende Gracht, Amsterdam" on which the "Rooseboom" mill is depicted.
This 17th-century mill stood between the Amstel and the Onbekendegracht.
In the course of time the mill was also called "Binnen Tuchthuismolen", "Het Land van Beloften" or "de Eendracht".
In Monet's time, woods such as ''
Paubrasilia
''Paubrasilia echinata'' is a species of flowering plant in the legume family, Fabaceae, that is endemic to the Atlantic Forest of Brazil. It is a Brazilian timber tree commonly known as Pernambuco wood or brazilwood ( pt, pau-de-pernambuco, ...
'' were ground by the mill for the production of dyes.
The mill was demolished in 1876 to make room for construction of the Carré theater.
Verdwenen Molens in Nederland
molendatabase.org
Monet's painting can be seen in the Museum of Fine Arts, Houston
The Museum of Fine Arts, Houston (MFAH), is an art museum located in the Houston Museum District of Houston, Texas. With the recent completion of an eight-year campus redevelopment project, including the opening of the Nancy and Rich Kinder Build ...
.
File:Claude Monet - The Windmill, Amsterdam, 1871.jpg , Claude Monet
Oscar-Claude Monet (, , ; 14 November 1840 – 5 December 1926) was a French painter and founder of impressionist painting who is seen as a key precursor to modernism, especially in his attempts to paint nature as he perceived it. During ...
- Le Moulin de l'Onbekende Gracht, Amsterdam, 1871
File:Stadsarchief Amsterdam, Afb ANWQ00313000001.jpg , Circus Carré at the start of construction, seen from the Onbekendegracht. c.1887
File:Stratenmakerswerf (thans Lepelstraat eo) Jacob Olie (max res).jpg , Stratenmakerswerf (now Lepelstraat) Jacob Olie
Jacob Olie (1834 – 1905) was a photographer from Amsterdam known for his scenes of everyday life there.
Olie was born in Amsterdam and was trained as a carpenter and draughtsman.Jacob Olie (Jbz) in the RKD He became a teacher at the local sch ...
1891
See also
*Canals of Amsterdam
Amsterdam, capital of the Netherlands, has more than of '' grachten'' (canals), about 90 islands and 1,500 bridges. The three main canals (Herengracht, Prinsengracht and Keizersgracht), dug in the 17th century during the Dutch Golden Age, form c ...
Notes
Sources
{{DEFAULTSORT:Onbekendegracht
Canals in Amsterdam